How to turn ??2016?? into a Productive Year!

Dear friends and partners,

With 2016 only a few days away, I can only say that 2015 has been quite a year for everyone, here in Greece. Times have not only been turbulent, but have certainly turned tables upside-down, in terms of economy and business.

Adding up to this, it was only two months ago, in one of my business trips abroad that I took an even harder slap in the face than the one received all through the summer, due to the referendum, the elections, the capital controls, and so on so forth... I have never experienced before showing up on client meetings and people seriously questioning my services as profitable when presented to them with numbers and facts. Not believing their ears that Greek businesses actually can and will invest on training, not to mention their awareness of LinkedIn as a critical social selling and recruitment tool. God, really, I wouldn't want to know what goes on to many people's mind worldwide, when it comes to Greek entrepreneurs and business executives. They must think we're some kind of neanderthals; which is far from true.

When I begun training people on LinkedIn some years ago, I held neither an accreditation of some sort, nor any confirmation of my know-how and skills on social media strategies, proper platform operation, etc. The only "weapons" possessed were my true passion for learning more about LinkedIn, a deep belief of its potential on Sales, Marketing and the HR industry, plus, my continuous research on various digital behaviors.

In others words, hard work has been my one and only foundation versus all entrepreneurial risks, competition arisen and financial/political instability. Therefore, it was great dedication, daily practice, numerous seminars and webinars attended to develop my expertise during all these years, that got me today to count more than 80 training programs delivered, along with speeches and workshops, plus, around 3,200 people trained.

My 2015 Review before the year goes to sleep...

I have no words to describe my gratitude to all the organizations, companies, associations, universities and volunteering groups that helped my entrepreneurial hand and took that stroll with me!

It's quite something to be self-employed, struggling on your own during these difficult times and having great names & brands supporting your work, such as INTERAMERICAN, Hertz Autohellas, GPMA, Performance Technologies, Eurobank Business Services, and many more... So, it's only fair to say I owe them a lot for trusting me, letting me into their teams of people, working side-by-side with them, while opening-up on all their ideas & worries, their qualities & flaws.

Thank you, my 2015 Partners!

So, what's my plan for 2016?

It all comes down to these 5 plain and simple rules below, which we can all find the time to follow. Now, if we forget some in the process, let's not be judgmental - ourselves or our clients - we're all human after all.  But, let's give our best efforts to:

1. Work against all odds, frustration or difficulties
2.  Thank all those who have stood by you during your efforts, failures and successes
3. Thank all those who "gave a penny" for your thoughts (consultation) and actions (services); trusted you when times and people told them otherwise (not to trust, invest or risk)
4. Listen to no-one telling you "Δεν γ?νεται" (that "it can't be done"), like Peter Economides explains
5. Tell them, when others question your sweat, passion & work...:

"Γ?νεται - It can be done!"

My warmest wishes to each and everyone of you reading this post, entrepreneurs looking for their next motive & inspiration, unemployed on the ledge of employment, employees under stress, managers and CEOs having to take tough decisions, executives thinking to build something of their own, etc.
I truly wish 2016 will bring the challenges you all long for, new frontiers to explore, along with health and strength to support your choices.

Take care of yourselves,
Ethel ?? ??

****

Ethel Agelatou is a Corporate & Career Branding Coach, an HR Consultant, as well as an Editor of Career Consulting Journals (online & offline), covering topics on personal branding, unemployment, HR researches, Social Media and entrepreneurship (businesscoachinglab.gr, wearesocialmedia.gr, kariera.gr, hominumopus.gr, HR Professional, CareerGuide.gr).
But most passionately of all, she is a LinkedIn Trainer & Evangelist, specializing in promoting and highlighting both Personal and Corporate Branding of LinkedIn users’ profiles, while conducting:

• In-house corporate trainings (customized services according to clients’ needs/online brand)
• Open seminars (speeches/hands-on workshops)
• One-to-one sessions, bringing out personal or corporate eBranding

She has trained more than 3,000 people via hands-on workshops and auditorium lectures, and collaborated so far with more than 35 organizations & associations. Follow Ethel's work on her LinkedIn Greek Community Facebook page, Twitter and About.me.